overwhelmed...need help selecting a reasonably priced aa light for general use...

hi folks -

wow, i've spent over 3 hours tonight for what i thought would be a simple 15-minute project. and instead of spending another 3, i thought i'd see if one of you more knowledgeable people could quickly point me the right way. i'm looking for a fairly simple light that uses AA (or AAA) batteries and can be used for general purpose use. i'm envisioning buying about 6 such lights to keep a couple in the car and the rest in various rooms throughout the house for easy access. i don't need anything super bright (i have a petzl headlamp and don't need anything brighter than that) and probably value battery life and wide beam spread more.

from the reading i've done so far, it seems like something like the fenix l1d (or even the l2d) would be quite good but since i'm planning to buy a handful of them i don't really want to pay that much for each one. so i was trying to figure out if one of the romisen ones might be a reasonable alternative. the rc-a3, rc-g2, and rc-n3 all seem like possibilities, but i can't tell what their beam spread is and also can't tell whether the cree p2 or p4 or q5 versions are better. basically, am just getting a bit overwhelmed with info and would love some help.

(by the way, i have reviwed the "budget high-performance flashlights" review by bessiebennie but am still confused)

thanks in advance.

I kind of like the look of this one for an emergency/practical use light. 7 hours regulated runtime and decent throw. About half the price of the fenix and is available at some brick and mortars. I plan on picking up a few on monday.

If you have a few mini mags the mj led upgrade is a good bet, I've heard up to 35 hours. They are direct drive, so output will lower over time. They are available at both lighthound and the sandwich shoppe. I've been stocking up on quite a few of these lately in case of a blizzard hurricane or other emergency situation, the brightness is quite reasonable.

Welcome to cpf btw. I hope you enjoy the time you spend here (and the money, lol).

Those cheap Chinese lights are good value when they work, but they are quite variable in quality. Frankly I'd go for Gerber Infinity Ultras ($12-15 each). They are a lot less bright than those Cree lights but they are cheap and simple. Put in lithium cells for leak resistance and longer shelf life.

Honestly you can't go wrong with the Fenix. You do get what you pay for so I'd think hard about cheap lights.
However, there arre a couple quality lights a bit cheaper. A slightly older model Fenix light can sometimesbe found for a good price. Lumapwer makes a couple decent AA lights as well

:welcome:

Welcome to CPF. How about buying a couple of AA lights like the Fenix LD10 (or L1T V2.0 if you want a simple two stage light) and 4 Fenix E01's. The LD10 or L1T are more than bright enough for your needs and good all purpose lights IMO. The EO1's are a good value, will have very long runtimes with a wide beam and with a lithium battery in it you can just stash it in drawer and forget about it until needed. They are more than bright enough for indoor room tasks and will allow you to navigate to a brighter light. They do however have bluish tints but if you just need light then they are more than adequate.

Fenix E20 with code 'PRIORITY25' comes to $28.50 shipped. Need to order at least 2 to meet minimum for discount to work. Single level but variable focus beam. For quality on a low budget that's pretty hard to beat :thumbsup:

Seems like you were attracted to this place for the same reason i did.
And just about every other member here..
While i have found heaps of great lights im still searching and spending
to much every month.

4 years and still searching


Add an average of $250 every month in lights multiply with 48 and do the math.


Run for your life....


And if youre not sure,buy both! And atleast two of each you like the most.


:nana:


Welcome to the forums.

MorpheusT1 said:

Seems like you were attracted to this place for the same reason i did.
And just about every other member here..
While i have found heaps of great lights im still searching and spending
to much every month.

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so what are 2-3 of your favorites so far, in the budget category? also, i'm a bit surprised that nobody's recommended one of the romisen batteries, which seem to get good reviews in terms of reliability, etc.

thanks again!

Romisen makes batteries?

The RC-N3 could be a good choice for general use but it creates more light most uses need.

P2, P4, Q5 if referring to the Cree XR-E LEDs is the flux(output/efficiency) bin of the LED. The P2 is the dimmest and the Q5 is the brightest of the bunch. You usually don't seen anything under a P4 bin unless it's a warm white LED(it will state warm white next to it).

Maybe more then a single kind of light would be better. For EDC use, maybe one like the L2D for the modes. For the "leave around till needed" use, 2 modes is probably more then enough.

Which Petzl headlamp?

:welcome:

In the end guessing 20 or so people will tell you to get a Fenix and for good reason.

go to walmart and buy some cheap headlamps.

The Streamlight Pro-Poly 4-AA Luxeon is a reasonably priced, uber dependable workhorse that you can't go wrong picking up a couple of.

It's not the latest or the brightest, but you'll be hard pressed to find a better all around light for the price.

Note there are two versions... the Luxeon (with one led) and a version with seven 5mm leds. I have and like both, but many members here prefer the Luxeon model, which has better "throw" than the 7-led model.

Toaster said:

Fenix E20 with code 'PRIORITY25' comes to $28.50 shipped. Need to order at least 2 to meet minimum for discount to work. Single level but variable focus beam. For quality on a low budget that's pretty hard to beat :thumbsup:

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Although the above is a 2 cell light, I have to agree that on a budget this makes a lot of sense. You could always just carry the light and not scatter so many around everywhere. One good light is worth a basket of junk ones, going cheap is not a good solution.

You can get an earlier model of the L1D-CE great, just not the latest LED, from the clearance section at fenix-store.com and use the coupon "clear10" for a final price of $44.28.

Otherwise go to Target and get the RiverRock 1W AA light for $24 or so, or checkout what the reviews says about the Energizer 1-AA light (aluminum 12x brighter model), as that is about $18 but I don't know if it's really a good light.

The Proton Pro is also a fairly simple 1AA light I really like, you can find it on sale for around $41-43.

The simple answer as you have found out is Fenix L1D.

Gunner12 said:

Romisen makes batteries?

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whoops...was thinking of two things at the same time. i meant romisen flashlights, not batteries.

The RC-N3 could be a good choice for general use but it creates more light most uses need.

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would the ac-3 or rc-g2 be better options?

Maybe more then a single kind of light would be better. For EDC use, maybe one like the L2D for the modes. For the "leave around till needed" use, 2 modes is probably more then enough.

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sorry, i should have mentioned that i already have a keychain flashlight, which serves all of my emergency need purposes quite well. it's a "photon micro," which i bought from rei. i'm just looking to supplement that with flashlights that i can "leave around" for things like power outages (which we have periodically here due to trees falling on power lines during storms)...or times around the house when i don't have my keys with me.

Which Petzl headlamp?

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i have two of the "tikka plus" headlamps, which i also bought from rei.

so here's what i'm thinking as of now: i think maybe i'll just get a fenix l2d as a primary flashlight to leave at the house; and i was thinking of then getting a few less expensive flashlights to leave in the car and for "grab and use" in a few rooms of the house...maybe the romisen rc-g2 or rc-a3. does that sound pretty reasonable?

and by the way, thanks to all of you for the kind words of welcome.

An L2D is a good house light because it has adjustable output and being a 2AA light it is even more battery efficient than the 1AA model.

For power-outages you may want to consider an AA Lantern type light. These are great for lighting a room during an outage.

Some parting words:
Some people suggested getting lithium batteries to leave in your "leave around" lights. Only do that in places where the temperature is constant (room temp. or lower), lithium batteries are pretty unstable, though hold charge insanely well. :thumbsup:

StandardBattery said:

For power-outages you may want to consider an AA Lantern type light. These are great for lighting a room during an outage.

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that's a nice idea. sorry to be so naive, but can you suggest a particular aa lantern-type light as an example of what you have in mind?

also, now that i think about it, we have a lantern in the garage for camping. it's this one:

http://www.rei.com/product/726664

but it's pretty bulky and actually doesn't produce very much light...so any other recs would be great.

jblackwood said:

Some parting words:
Some people suggested getting lithium batteries to leave in your "leave around" lights. Only do that in places where the temperature is constant (room temp. or lower), lithium batteries are pretty unstable, though hold charge insanely well. :thumbsup:

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Hmmm, I dont think I have heard of any problems with AA lithiums being unstable. Ive had several sets in my car for several years with no problems. Temps have ranged from 20 deg - 145 deg.

as far as the romisens go, ive had a few Romisen rc-g2's that I ended up giving away to friends and family members. all were solid, and gave a decent amount of light with a good beam for indoor and short range work.

Ive had the SAIK RC-A3, and like it better than the Romisen rc-g2.

fixitman said:

Hmmm, I dont think I have heard of any problems with AA lithiums being unstable. Ive had several sets in my car for several years with no problems. Temps have ranged from 20 deg - 145 deg.

as far as the romisens go, ive had a few Romisen rc-g2's that I ended up giving away to friends and family members. all were solid, and gave a decent amount of light with a good beam for indoor and short range work. I havent tried the other romisens.

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I agree, if anything it is better to have lithiums in the car or a place where temperatures vary greatly as they have a larger operating temperature range and are less likely to ruin a light as an alkaline would be.

I'll mention that the Nite-ize drop-in for the Mini Mag is in a couple of my "leave around the house" lights. The OP said that it doesn't have to be that bright and that he cares about "beam spread." The multiple emitters in the Nite-ize casts a nice big blob of light rather than a bright but small hotspot surrounded by a dimmer spill beam. For around-the-house use, I think it's a useful and economical option.